‘Gaokao’ season: Luxury’s missed coming-of-age opportunity

“I’m picking a gift for my kid who has just finished the gaokao, but am torn between three designer red bracelets,” Kaixindeheijialun (@开心的黑加仑) from Beijing posted on China’s lifestyle platform Xiaohongshu (also known as RedNote) asking for advice, alongside images of red cords from Fred, RedLine, and Schaffrath. “The Fred Force 10 bracelet feels bold and substantial, RedLine is slimmer and more understated, and the unicorn logo of Schaffrath really speaks to me for it represents warmth and protection. I’ve been agonizing over this all day and still can’t decide.” Like her, many parents describe choosing a graduation gift to mark their children's coming of age as a full-blown dilemma. “What are teenagers into nowadays?" one user wrote while asking for gift suggestions in the RMB 3,000 to 5,000 RMB ($443-735) range, while another listed everything from Jellycat and Pop Mart to an iPhone and Prada perfume. More luxury options have surfaced this year — Longines watches for their coming-of-age symbolism, Chow Tai Fook pure gold pendants for their value preservation and auspicious meaning. On Xiaohongshu, the hashtag “comingofagegift” (#成人礼) has amassed 1.5 billion views and 5.2 million notes at the time of writing. The conversation has largely been driven by parents and extended family members and family friends, as well as gaokao students themselves sharing their own wish lists and preferences to mark this major life transition. Inside the post-exam spending surge Roughly 12.9 million students sat the gaokao this year, the university entrance exam often called the world’s toughest. Many parents treat it as the decisive turning point in a child’s career and life. Each June, the close of the high-stakes exam fuels a ritualized wave of spending, as families reward years of effort with electronics, travel and cosmetic procedures. In June 2025, Xiaohongshu searches for “graduation gifts” rose 180% year-on-year. For years, the default gifts have been the “tech trio” — smartphones, laptops and tablets — paired with trips to domestic scenic spots or overseas resorts. Cosmetic procedures have climbed too: Lasik for myopia, orthodontics and light aesthetic treatments. Gym memberships and driving lessons round out the traditional list. These purchases stay routine this June. Tongcheng Travel reported “graduation trip” searches up more than 300% mont-on-month as of June 10, and JD.com counted a 161% jump in laptop purchases by gaokao students during its 618 festival. The pattern is shifting at one of the country’s largest spending moments. It bends less toward blind comparison and chasing “top-tier” labels, more toward practical need and emotional pull. The change is subtle but real, tracking a broader move in consumer habits against economic headwinds and a younger generation’s preference for purchases that feel personal. A coming-of-age moment for luxury Luxury sells life transitions. Yet it stays largely absent from the biggest annual rite of passage in China. Post-gaokao spending no longer stops at a MacBook, a DJI Osmo or a trip to Greece. It now spans retail, travel, education and healthcare. As the youngest Gen Zers attach more emotional value to purchases around the milestone, the season has broadened. iiMedia Research, a Chinese market consultancy, estimated with the China Tourism Academy that the post-gaokao economy will reach RMB 415 billion ($61.3 billion) this year. Around Chinese New Year, Qixi (Chinese Valentine’s Day) and the Mid-Autumn Festival, houses have spent years building localized campaigns for the world’s second-largest luxury market. The playbooks have grown more elaborate — product design drawn from China’s scenic landscapes, collaborations with Chinese celebrities and designers, campaigns tuned to the local cultural moment. Gaokao sits off the festive calendar, yet it marks a psychological threshold for these 18-year-olds and a defining milestone for their families — no less commemorative than many traditional festivals. As arguably the largest coming-of-age ritual in China, it fits the profile of luxury gifting: emotionally intense, family-backed, publicly celebrated and highly ritualized. Gold jewelry and first watches enter the ‘gaokao’ gift list An object or an experience can mark this passage, much like a festival gift. A first watch signals adulthood, gold jewelry pairs auspicious meaning with value retention, and a personalized piece carries something more intimate. More families now lean toward individualized, premium gifts over the popular but largely interchangeable electronics trio or all-in gadget bundle. When Dingxiangjie (@丁香结), a mother in south China’s Guangdong province, posted a photo of a gold necklace set with four-leaf-clover motifs — a post-gaokao gift for her daughter — it drew more than 1,300 comments. Users shared what they had bought or had in mind, from Lao Miao Gold bracelets to entry-level Tiffany & Co. pieces. One aunt wondered whether a pair of two-gram gold stud earrings from Chow Tai Fook might feel too meager. Another asked, “Would a male university student like jewelry?” The question drew 36 replies, among mentions were Chow Sang Sang’s Noir Legends bracelet and Chow Tai Fook’s Monologue series, which features collaborations aimed at young men. Affordable pieces from long-established jeweler Luk Fook came up often. Luxury backpacks, Louis Vuitton among them, are another favorite among younger women in the extended family. Despite the interest, dedicated luxury campaigns are rare. The spending window runs well beyond the days right after the exam, through the release of scores and university offers and into late summer. That stretch hands brands several openings to speak to achievement, independence and family pride. What the ‘gaokao’ economy signals for luxury’s Gen Z future This surge carries wider implications for luxury labels. In China, Gen Zers and millennials account for 70% of luxury consumption. Today’s gaokao students, the youngest Gen Zers, look set to become a major force in the category, even if their parents are the buyers for now. As they reach adulthood, their tastes and identities firm up. The longer-term opening for brands is to build relevance with this generation at the start of its adult spending life. Luxury gifting windows such as romantic festivals and major shopping events have waned in popularity, prompting many brands to look for new growth engines. Emotional gifting is one of the few segments with real momentum, led by younger consumers who increasingly seek steady emotional replenishment. Soul App’s Just So Soul Research Institute, with the Shanghai Municipal Youth Research Center, reported in its “2025 Gen Z Emotional Consumption Report” that academic pressure and the grind of working life are the most direct triggers for emotional spending, with nearly 90% of respondents saying they had paid for products or experiences for their “emotional value.” For them, an item’s worth lies less in owning it than in the story it tells. As perhaps the most emotionally charged milestone of their young lives, the gaokao offers a gifting occasion that luxury calendars still leave open.

‘Gaokao’ season: Luxury’s missed coming-of-age opportunity

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‘Gaokao’ season: Luxury’s missed coming-of-age opportunity

How Bottega Veneta weaved China’s forever it bag